Of Course You Can Step On…I Mean Tease Me: The Age of Teasing Anime is Upon Us!

There are so many wonderful things that can come from the world of anime. Likewise, there are so many things you can learn about yourself while watching any given anime. With the likes of Teasing Master Takagi-san, Don’t Toy With Me Miss Nagatoro, and Uzaki-chan Wants To Hang Out, the age of teasing is upon us! And you know what? I think I’m into that.

You know the age-old adage, “If someone teases you, then they like you.” We don’t know who decided that, but in a lot of cases, it’s actually true. Most younger people end up teasing the object of their affection because they aren’t emotionally mature enough to relay their romantic interest clearly.

With that said, those who can effectively tease their crush have some serious skill. The Nagatoro anime follows a nameless Senpai, who is brought to tears in his first meeting with his kohai, Nagatoro. He’s creating a manga, and she sees a few pages from it, confronting him on how unrealistic it is. She then forces her way into his life on a daily basis, teasing him relentlessly, not unlike Uzaki-chan from our third show, Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out. Uzaki sees her senpai, Shinichi, as a loser who needs her intervention to avoid a sad life of loneliness. Teasing Master Takagi-san follows the antics of our main character, Nishikata and the titular Takagi. Nishikata spends his days attempting to embarrass and make her blush, only to have her turn his efforts on their head and tease him instead.

See, a lot of people don’t realize that to get reactions like this, as consistently and constantly as Takagi gets them, all boils down to how well she knows Nishikata. She has a Master’s degree in Nishikata; she knows what makes him tick, knows how far she needs — or doesn’t — need to go in order to effectively tease him. This is what makes her the titular Master!

For most people, between these three shows, Takagi-san is infinitely more wholesome than the others, and I’d agree. With every episode, I’m left with a warm and fuzzy feeling, not only from the comedy, but from the sense of genuine closeness these two share. You can tell from early on in the series that they both like each other (even if Nishikata won’t admit it yet), and it shows through every interaction they have. They even think of each other when they’re not in school. Seeing Nishikata try and embarrass Takagi like she constantly does him is delightful. While I doubt it ever happens, the journey is more important than the destination.

Teasing is a skill, and Takagi has mastered it. However, our other teasing queen of late, Nagatoro, is still learning. The first episode is something I had to tolerate, because sitting through the “teasing” was uncomfortable. I’m glad I did, because what follows has led the show to become one of my favorite recent romantic comedies. It also introduced me to another “dere” type (the Japanese character archetypes that most of the characters fall under).

The Sadodere.

What’s a sadodere? In layman’s terms, it’s a character who has a sadistic personality and loves teasing. They love to manipulate, and sometimes humiliate, the object of their affections, even going as far as physically hitting their romantic interest on a regular basis. Think tsunderes, but more sadistic. There’s an engaging dynamic at play here, as the target does typically end up developing positive feelings for the sadodere.

Now Nagatoro doesn’t go out of her way to just beat up Senpai all the time. Sure, she does hit him, but not to the point he’s in actual pain; they’re love taps that happen because she doesn’t know what else to do to cover up her embarrassment. Nagatoro specializes more in seeing just how far she can push him to get the reaction she wants, and she gets those reactions more often than not. She constantly throws lewd jokes at him because he’s a virgin, despite her inexperience in the romance department being identical to his. She goes too far quite a few times, ending up running away beet red, but not before leaving him speechless as usual.

Thankfully the teasing isn’t all there is to the show, or to Nagatoro’s character, because I’d have ended up dropping the show. With each episode, we get to see snippets of why Nagatoro treats Senpai the way she does, and spoilers, it’s because she actually does like him. Slowly but surely, we see how Nagatoro and her friends contribute to Senpai coming out of his shell and growing more confident. It’s a slow journey, but Nagatoro’s teasing opens the door for Senpai to try and formulate comebacks, and this in turn results in mental and social growth for both of them.

I’m not entirely sure what makes Nagatoro such a fascinating character. Maybe it’s the larger than life facial expressions, or the constant tiptoeing she does to see just how far she can push both herself and Senpai. Whatever it is, she has a magnetic pull that’s almost impossible to fight. Not that I really want to, and now that I think about it, that could just be the masochist in me.

If I’m being honest, I’m not sure why I enjoy this anime so much. The fact that everyone around them seems to want to root for their relationship to flourish is a huge selling point. It could be that I love to see somewhat problematic love stories develop into wholesome ones, and that’s exactly what this show becomes by the time we reach the last episode.

Now when it comes to Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out, it took a while for it to grab me. Initially, I felt bad for Sakurai, the senpai she loves teasing as I found Uzaki loud, obnoxious and grating. She ridicules him, berates him and outright insults him because he enjoys spending his time alone.

Seriously though, I heard the comparison between the two frequently, with many people saying Uzaki was a better person than Nagatoro, to which I wholly disagree. It can be said that Uzaki didn’t get off on making her senpai cry though. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that out of these three, Uzaki was the one I enjoyed the least. Why? Because she’s so irritating. Nagatoro starts out pretty rough, because she doesn’t know how to tease her crush without it being outright bullying. However, she learns as time goes on. Uzaki on the other hand, just assumes she’s the solution to Sakurai’s problems.

The only problem is, there’s nothing wrong with Sakurai wanting to spend his time doing what he enjoys. He likes going to the movies alone, playing games alone, and Uzaki unapologetically does a bunch of things without thinking about how he would feel, while at other times, she’s surprisingly considerate. Honestly, the way she acts on any given day is a toss up, and I can’t fully support a master of chaos like that, despite me wanting to.

However, my colleague, Viking, points out much of what works in this anime in our Fall 2022 sequel roundup. We see good comedy, and the gradual and believable pacing of Uzaki and Sakurai’s relationship. Their relationship is amusing, and the side characters in the show only work to make the main duo’s development progress that much quicker. Admittledy, it’s the antics of the side characters that elicits the most laughs from me. Eventually we do get to see the growth our loner main character experiences thanks to his outgoing and intrusive kohai, so she definitely grows on you by the end of the show. She wants her senpai to enjoy his life, and does what she can to help him do just that. The fact that they begin to develop feelings for each other is just a bonus.

All in all, I’d recommend checking out each of these shows if you want to indulge in your masochistic side, or if you want to enjoy a good laugh and possibly feel some warm fuzzies watching a budding relationship.